ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen a rise in the consumption of herbal medicines, including medicinal and aromatic plants. The annual growth rate of the herbal industry as reported by the World Bank (WHO 2002, Patwardhan et al. 2005) was approximately of 5% to 15%. In response to this increasing demand, it is necessary to improve the quantity and quality of active substances produced by medicinal plants. Additionally, medicinal plants should be classifi ed according to their biochemical and botanical aspects in order to reach an optimal standard for the production of high-quality crude drugs. Ideally, all these steps should be achieved through low-cost solutions.
